Herbers helps Fire earn 1-1 draw with NYCFC in season opener

Mar 5, 2023, 05:35 am

CHICAGO -- — Fabian Herbers scored a goal in the 75th minute to help the Chicago Fire earn a 1-1 draw with New York City FC on Saturday night.

Herbers’ goal helped the Fire (0-0-1) finish tied for a third straight opener and was Chicago's first score against NYCFC (0-1-1) in the last four match-ups. It's been 14 seasons since Chicago last won its first game.

Gabriel Pereira had an unassisted goal in the 39th minute to give NYCFC the lead. NYCFC is now 7-1-3 in its last 11 matches against the Fire.

Kai Kamara made his debut for Chicago. The 38-year-old forward was acquired last week in a trade with CF Montreal. Kamara, playing for his 10th team, is No. 3 on the all-time goals list with 139. He is six behind former LA Galaxy star Landon Donovan. Chris Wondolowski of the San Jose Earthquakes leads with 171.

Both teams took nine shots, with NYCFC holding a 3-1 edge in shots on goal.

Spencer Richey saved two shots for the Fire. Luis Barraza finished without a sav for NYCFC.

Both teams are in action again on Saturday. The Fire visit the Philadelphia Union and NYCFC hosts Inter Miami.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.